The act of finding balance needs to start with our children. While we may sometimes struggle to achieve balance, we need to create a generation to whom this comes naturally. And one key way to do this is to provide them with the tools needed to create a healthy lifestyle.
Where does a healthy lifestyle begin? If you ask most people, they will start by listing diet and exercise. There may be other variables such as stress levels and amount of sleep, but it goes without question that without a balance of a healthy diet and a good amount of exercise, it becomes nearly impossible to have a healthy lifestyle.
Do you have a healthy diet? Do you exercise? What about your children?
Little Bear is like most other 2 year olds when it comes to food. Picky with a capital ‘P.’ But no matter how picky he is, I’m constantly trying to introduce him to new fruits and vegetables. I can’t tell you how many times I tell him, “Just try it!” As you know if you follow along with us on the blog, there is one thing that I never have to try to force Little Bear to do: read. And that is why I was super excited to have the opportunity to review Healthy Foods from A to Z and Keeping Fit from A to Z.
Both of these books are designed to take children through the alphabet, learning about different foods and ways to keep fit in both English and Spanish!
The fact that the book has both English and Spanish appeals to me in so many ways. This book is opening up dialogues about a healthy lifestyle for those parents that don’t have a good grasp on the English language. It is also providing parents like myself an opportunity to teach our children some words in a new language. While we’re on the west coast of Canada and have limited opportunities to speak in Spanish, this feature makes me very excited to be able to share another language with my son (blame it on my background in linguistics!).
The pictures in these books are easy to understand for younger toddlers and are actual photos as opposed to illustrations. If that wasn’t enough, check out the creative presentation on the ‘L’ page:
All the pages in Healthy Foods from A to Z are like this. Every food face has a different expression, opening up a dialogue with your toddler about feelings and expressions. This book is not only for toddlers though; for older children there is a create your own healthy food face page, for parents there’s an information section at the back with details about all the fruits and vegetables in the book (for example, did you know that beans have the highest antioxidant content and mushrooms have high levels of the B-vitamins?) in both English and Spanish, and for anyone taking an introduction to Spanish course, this book would be very helpful when learning about food.
In Keeping Fit from A to Z, the focus isn’t just in traditional exercise, but on keeping active, however that might be. There are lots of fun suggestions (with pictures) like knead bread, hop in a sleeping bag, have a pillow fight, and rake leaves. Of course there are the more traditional suggestions like play baseball and do yoga too! At the end, it follows the same format as Healthy Foods from A to Z, providing ideas for activities and a parent information page.
Both the books are recipients of the Mom’s Choice Award, and both books are the perfect choice for a large range of ages, from toddlers to adults. There are so many ideas for activities in these books, they’re sure to allow you to create a whole day of fun activities that will help you and your kids stay healthy and active. I can also totally see the Healthy Foods book making kids more interested in trying different foods too! After all, kids are especially picky when it comes to things they’re not familiar with. If they become more familiar with the food in these pages, they might be more interested in actually eating it!
Want to see if these books inspire you and your kids to maintain a healthy lifestyle? You’re in luck! Stephanie Maze, executive editor of both the books and publisher at Moonstone Press, has kindly sent me copies of Healthy Foods from A to Z and Keeping Fit from A to Z to giveaway on the blog!
1 lucky entrant will win a copy of both the books! Enter here:
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Contest closes September 24, 2014 and is open to residents of Canada and the continental United States.
This giveaway has closed.
How do you teach your kids about active living and maintaining a healthy lifestyle?
